The Senior Executive Team at Shoreline Community College prepared more indepth responses to several of the more common concerns raised during the recent feedback period on the preliminary budget reduction recommendations. To view those responses, click here.

ShorelineCommunity College is getting ready to implement another round of state-mandated budget reductions.

“The administration has carefully reviewed all the feedback comments received over the past several weeks, feedback that we deeply appreciate. We’ve also tried to analyze the latest news from Olympia and anticipate the likely implications,” said John Backes, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Based on all of that information, we’ve made adjustments to the preliminary recommendations released Feb. 22 and communicated those adjustments to leaders of the classified and faculty unions.”

Backes said that employees who were not previously notified that they may be directly affected by the adjustments would be told by their supervisor, a vice president or director, today, Friday. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, April 4-6, every potentially impacted employee will have an opportunity to speak with President Lee Lambert. The President’s Office will schedule those meetings.

The details of the reduction plan will be presented and discussed at the all-campus meeting, 12:30-2 p.m., April 6, Room 2308. The meeting will be Webcast on Elluminate.

“These reductions are based on our best determinations of what the college will face once the Legislature finished its work; $3.1 million in reductions,” Backes said. The preliminary recommendations were aimed at a $2.77 million mark, but the state’s revenue forecast released March 17 and subsequent advice from staff at the State Board of Community and TechnicalColleges increased the target.

Despite not having an actual reduction number from the state, contract requirements mean the college must start layoff and reduction-in-force processes now if they are to take effect by the start of the new fiscal year, July 1, 2011. As in previous years, President Lambert has said that if a smaller cut is required, reduction processes can be stopped, but they can’t be accelerated. If planned cuts are delayed into the new fiscal year, Lambert has said it would just mean additional budget reductions would be needed to make up the difference.